Vienna’s Warimpex and UBM Sell Hotel Assets at Disneyland Paris for €100m

Main Photo: The reception at Vienna Dream House!

Date: August 2019

Location: Disneyland Paris, France

Name: Vienna House Dream Castle and Vienna House Magic Circus

No. of Keys: 793

Seller: CEE-focused listed developer Warimpex and Vienna counterpart UBM Development AG

Buyer: An unnamed international investor….

The two 4-Star hotels were jointly developed by Warimpex and UBM Development and opened in 2004 and 2007 respectively. Together, they offer nearly 800 rooms and more than 1,200 sqm of conference space. Each firms own a stake of 50%.

“We are very satisfied with the progress in the sales process for the two hotels, which we developed together with UBM some 15 years ago,” said Warimpex CEO Franz Jurkowitsch in a release. “Both hotels have enjoyed very positive development recently, so now is the right time to sell our shares. In line with our business strategy, we will use the sales proceeds to push ahead with current development projects and to acquire cash flow-generating assets.”

The Vienna House Dream Castle hotel is surrounded by a beautiful French garden designed in the style of historical palace grounds, and offers 397 rooms as well as facilities for events and conferences. The nearby Vienna House Magic Circus hotel (opened in 2003), renovated in 2018/19, features a colourful design styled after a country estate and is situated in a charming garden with its own lake. It offers 396 rooms and suites for guests along with eight event and seminar rooms.

Warimpex, listed in Vienna and Warsaw, is a real estate development and investment company headquartered in Vienna and with a core focus on the construction and operation of hotels and offices in central and eastern Europe. The company has developed properties worth over €1bn over the past 30 years and is currently active in CEE, Russia, Austria, Germany, and France. Hotels include the InterContinental Warsaw, Kempinski Palais Hansen, Vienna and Crowne Plaza St Petersburg Airport.

The statement follows one released Monday by UBM and Vienna listed investor S Immo, announcing the sale of the last elements of Vienna’s Quartier Belvedere Central project for €233m well before completion.

The conclusion of the sale is subject to the standard prerequisites for transactions of this type in France. Any final agreement is notably subject to a positive outcome of the employee consultation process in France. The closing may be expected to take place before the end of the year.

UBM Development is a leading hotel developer in Europe. Their strategic focus covers three asset classes – hotel, residential and office – and three core markets – Germany, Austria and Poland.

UBM develops hotels with over 500 rooms, residential buildings with 500 apartments and office projects with a volume of approximately €200m. Hotels include Sugar Palace, Prague, Holiday Inn Warsaw and Radisson Blu Krakau.

Price: Around €100m

Price per Key: €126,103

THPT Comment: The JV partners have done well with these hotels…wonder who the unnamed investor is? Anyone know? Interesting French law about employee right of approval.

First Seen: Business Immo

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